IS401 Review §

• Identify and describe key analytical tools to analyze foreign policy behaviors
  • with an emphasis on key approaches to understand
    • Policy outcome: the making of FP
    • Foreign policy arena
    • Foreign policy images
    • Level of analysis
• Understand
  • FP content
  • The making of FP of international key players including US, China, Japan, Russia
  • Enhance policy insights of political, economic, and security issues in various regions and the world
• Enhance policy insights of politics, economic, and security issues in various regions and the world

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1. What are the key analytical tools to analyze foreign policy behaviors?

• Strategic Culture: is political culture transferred from generation to generations through education and social process (isolationism)

Foreign Policy Images §

1. What are the Foreign Policy Images in IR studies?
   • Kenneth Waltz Images of IR: what variables to look at when analyzing FP. ¹
     • First Image: Individual
       • Rational Choice Theory : leaders have input from advisors of all fields + personal experience in cost/benefit + pressure by mass public elector
       • Cognitive School of Thoughts: leaders aren’t always rational as we think they are, and have cognitive fallacies such as
         • group-think: fitting in
         • cognitive dissonance: ignore negative info
         • cognitive consistency: glorify past methods for current situation
     • Second Image: States
       • The political system: democratic, authoritarian/autocracy, bureaucracy, technocracy, authoritarian, transitional
       • Ruling elites: dictators, populism
       • Political Ideology: Liberalism or Conservatism
       • Religion: Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Religious Fundamentalism
       • Interest Group, Public opinion, Strategic Culture
     • Third Image: External or Structural Factor
       • Realism: FP tools are used to act, react, and interact in the int’ environment depending on polarity of system.
       • Liberalism: multiplex world order

Levels of Foreign Policy §

1. What are the levels of Foreign Policy when analyzing it? ¹
   • Between Individual, State, and International level, which one determine what FP is chosen.
   • Individual Level
     • Advisors + leaders + experience + public pressure
     • Individuals aren’t perfect, they have cognitive fallacies
     • David Singer: individual level is already accounted for by electoral process in state level
   • State Level: David Singer supports it
     • Internal and external factors ⇒ impact electoral framework & institutions ⇒ impact which national goal is picked (goal & purpose of national policy)
     • It explores
       • Material dynamics: determine the power level of states and who to pursue through FP
       • Nature of State: political system and institutions determines their behavior (Ex: Democratic Peace Theory)
   • International Level: Kenneth Waltz Int’ system is the strongest determinant of FP
     • Nature and rules of int’ system
     • Distribution of power among state and non-state actors: economic capability, military strength, resource endowment, political competence, and competence
     • Polarity of int’ system: uni-polar, bi-polar, multi-polar

Foreign Policy Arena §

1. What is Foreign Policy Arena? ²
   • the terrain on which FP is conducted: Domestic, Government, International Context
   • The terrain have forces which shape FP making & implementation such as Actors, Interest, Issues
2. What is the FP arena for?
   • The three contexts of FP arena are spaces for actors, issues, and interests to populate it to formulate FP.
3. Elaborate on the terrains of FP Arena. ²
   • International Context: is most important because ‘Foreign’ Policy is it’s entire point
     • Uncertainty the environment: shift in balance of power, hegemonic order, hierarchical international system
     • Assess international context change and it’s impact on FP making

       • Location of activity: which geographical location is the main focus of the international community on political and economical issues

         

       • Focus of Activity: emergence of new issues in environmental issues, Socio-Economic Issues arising from globalization, prolonged security challenges, geo-strategic and geo-economic competition

       • Instrument of Activity: the means to get to the end: soft, hard, and smart power

         • Realism: ideological warfare, using economic or military pressure.
         • Liberalism: Now soft power is more effective due to interdependence
   • Governmental Context
     • Government is the representative of the national state, claim for sovereignty and security.
       • All governments have the same principle even though each had a different version of the FP problem
     • Governmental structure for FP making are open to challenge and change
       • Change: Organizational restructuring more open to reflect change in int’ context
       • Challenge: Western Society’s: scope & scale of government increased in the transformed world
         • Government might not have diplomatic skill or capacity to deal with it’s large scope effectively
   • Domestic Context
     • Pattern of communication and information sources makes the support and pressure of non-state actors influence domestic politics
     • Domestic view is only attentive to FP during major national crises
       • Mass public is normally uninformed or uninterested

Foreign Policy Instruments §

1. What are the types of diplomacy?
   • Bilateral Diplomacy
   • Multilateral Diplomacy
   • Summit Diplomacy: conference diplomacy (less institutionalized) to remove tension, build confidence, trust, and share ideas
   • Ad Hoc Diplomacy: special envoys on missions for diplomatic relations
   • Parliamentary Diplomacy
     • Institutional: happens in legislative process, parliamentary monitoring, and direct political role of parliament
     • Diplomatic:
       1. Bilateral: parliament of one country work with another country’s parliament
       2. Multilateral: parliamentary delegations in parliamentary meetings of 10s
       3. Different forms of associations of parliaments around the world (Inter-Parliamentary Union)
   • Quiet Diplomacy: actors keep quiet about problem until solution is found to avoid scrutiny from third party, domestic, or int’ involvement.
     • Open/Secret Diplomacy: whether diplomatic relations carried out is with the consent of the public (threats of war)
   • Coercive Diplomacy: military strategy to make states or non-state actors to behave a certain way.

Foreign Policy Making (FPM) ³ §

1. What is FPM?

   • Foreign Policy Making (FPM) is the process by which the government analyse existing problems, evaluate policy alternatives, and take appropriate actions to solve the important issues and maximize national interest.

2. Images of FPM

   1. Rational Actor Image: it retains an assumption of rationality that is possessed by policy makers. State is unitary actor
      • Realism: selfish → competitive nature FP
      • Structural Realism: anarchy → self-help FP
      • Rational Choice Theory: policy makers operate under constrains of time, knowledge, & place
   2. ‘Political’ Foreign Policy Making Image: Political and bureaucratic elites have a great influence over the FPM through political activities. State is not a unitary actor
      • policy is outcome of political bargaining & interaction between int. and domestic level
      • Two-Level Game Theory: to balance/negotiate benefits between domestic and international level groups
        • Attempt to favor one constrains the other
      • Closest to Bureaucratic politics model: bureaucratic position → bureaucratic interests → policy preference
      1. ‘Psychological’ Images: Personal characteristic of policy leaders will have a determining impact on the nature of policy
         • Common behaviors of FP makers
           • FP makers can only imagine their ideal ‘subjective’ world and hope it translate to the favorable ‘objective’ world of reality.
           • Cognitive biases, perceptual distortion due to uncertainty and complexity

3. What is FPM in context of transformed world?

   • Rational Actor Image: Kenneth Waltz dismisses changes, Int’ system is still anarchic, objective is still survival and security.
   • Political FPM
     • Constructivism: Complex int’ events → adaptation in FPM: new institutions, processes, adaptation method
     • Increased significance of domestic politics on FPM
     • More channels of contact among society: intergovernmental, ministerial, transnational, and lobby state channels.
   • Psychological Image: the use of past solutions won’t solve current day new problems
     • States still focus on security when economic is what is important now

4. What is the difference between FPM during a routine and crisis policy making?

   Routine FPM	Crisis FPM
   Policy initiation based on incremental adjustment	Policy making as response to surprise event
   Low/moderate stress level	High stakes and stress level
   Wide number of policy makers	Small number of policy makers
   Broad range of options	Narrow range of options
   Long lead time in policy formation	Limited time to respond
   No likelihood of force	Likelihood of force

5. How does FPM differ in different types of political systems?

   • Between Democratic, Authoritarian, and Transitional regimes
   • Sources of influence on Policy: leader, public, bureaucrats
   • Form/existance of political competition/conflict
   • Stability of government
   • survival of practices of old regime

Case Studies §

• What are the FP for contemporary states of the world?
• US’s Trump
  • Political Ideology of Leader: Conservative → isolationism → retrenchment from int. arena
  • Ruling Elite: Populism president, public pressure/opinion
• COVID-19: time pressured, crisis policy making
• Somalia Civil War
• Cambodia: UNTAC

References §

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Exam §

1. Defining Key Terms
   • Look at glossary of main text book FPITW - Foreign Policy In A Transformed World (2014, Routledge)
     • 2 or 3 key terms
   • 5 key terms x 4 points each = 20 points over all
   • Writing in sentence format: subject verb object
   • Will not be given additional paper, 4 - 5 lines for each definition, don’t go over dotted lines
2. Comprehension Questions
   • 2 questions x 20 points each = 40 points
   • No word limit
   • Paragraph formats or bullet point format
   • 2 - 3 pages writing space provided (1 page is enough to answer 1 question, don’t over do it)
3. Critical Thinking Question
   • 1 question x 40 points
   • Essay format only
   • Brain storm section
   • No additional paper added

Footnotes §

1. Levels of Analysis of Foreign Policy ↩ ↩²

2. FPITW-C2 The Foreign Policy Arena ↩ ↩²

3. FPITW-C3 The Making of Foreign Policy ↩